The Metronome at the Corner

During the COVID-19 outbreak,Li Zhen,a teacher at Wuhan No.2 School for the Deaf,was busy in doing voluntary work for nursing homes while teaching his students online.He was so occupied that he didn’t even have the time to look after his pregnant wife.

“Students will soon participate in the entrance exam to college,so I must train them through online videos.It is more important for me to offer psychological counseling to them,because they are more sensitive than normal students.” Young as he is,Li Zhen often calls his students children,and the latter call him their “Brother of Dance.”

Six Bottles of Iced Water

Every day,Li Zhen prepares five or six bottles of iced mineral water,which are used to cool his mobile phone.While being a volunteer,he never forgets to offer his students video guidance in dance and psychological counseling.All the work has to be done with the help of a mobile phone.But long time communicating with the students online causes his mobile phone to heat up,thus affecting their smooth communication.Therefore,he cools his mobile phone by placing bottles of iced water on its back.

Li Zhen (middle) and his students as the champions in Italy李桢（中）和学生在意大利参加比赛夺冠后合影

疫情期间，武汉市第二聋哑学校的李桢老师很忙,他一边在养老院做志愿者，一边远程指导学生，连做月子的爱人都来不及照顾。

“孩子们快要高考了，我要视频指导训练，更重要的是做好心理辅导，他们比一般人更敏感。”尽管李桢很年轻，但他习惯叫学生们“孩子”，学生则都称他为“舞蹈哥哥”。

六瓶冰冻矿泉水的用途

每天出门前李桢都要准备五六瓶冰冻矿泉水。这些冰水是给手机降温用的。当志愿者的同时，他通过视频辅导学生舞蹈课和心理辅导，离了手机不行。跟学生交流时间长了手机就会发烫，影响流畅度，他就用冰水瓶子放在手机后面降温。

高三学生梅子艺术有天赋，高考有望通过艺术加分进一所好大学，但她性格内向。李桢注意到这一点，通过手语跟梅子私聊后发现，梅子的父母受疫情影响失去了工作，在生活重压下想让梅子放弃高考。

This scene was such a shock and grief to Li Zhen that he went to help these students set the music with tears in his eyes.“I was deeply moved by their love for art,” he said.At that moment,he decided that he would stay to help these children realize their dreams.

Meizi,a senior student gifted in art,is expected to be admitted to a good university with her art bonus points.Noticing her timidity,Li Zhen talked privately with her through sign language and found that she was at the verge of giving up her college entrance exam because her parents lost their jobs due to the epidemic and the family was under heavy economic pressure.

Li Zhen then persuaded Meizi’s parents to change their mind by analyzing her future employment situation,and by telling some success stories about deaf students who had studied in colleges and universities.He said,“Every decision by parents may have an impact on the whole life of their children.It is a duty for teachers in special education schools to do ideological work with the parents.”

Reason for His Stay

Li Zhen graduated from the School of Music of Central China Normal University,majoring in Dance Education.10 years ago,he witnessed a scene which stayed in his mind and led to his decision to stay working for the school for the deaf.

In May of 2010,Li Zhen,who was about to graduate,was invited to help rehearse dances in Wuhan No.2 School for the Deaf.One day after supper,he got to the dance classroom in advance and saw a group of children sitting around a large speaker at a high volume,their ears against it.After asking them,he learned that before rehearsal these children wanted to feel the melody and rhythm of the music by the vibration of the speaker box.But they accidentally set the sound box to the radio mode,not realizing that it produced a harsh noise.

This scene was such a shock and grief to Li Zhen that he went to help these students set the music with tears in his eyes.“I was deeply moved by their love for art,” he said.At that moment,he decided that he would stay to help these children realize their dreams.Refusing offers from employers with good conditions,he became the only full-time dance teacher in this school.

After he started to work as a teacher there,Li Zhen faced many difficulties since he had no knowledge of special education and sign language at all.He still remembers that after the school opened in autumn of 2010,his class was in disorder.At that time,in a bad mood he hid himself in the lounge until a small hand patted him on the shoulder.When he turned around,he found a student with Down’s syndrome smiling at him,without using any sign language.

“I suddenly realized how absurdly I behaved.I was like a kid,who gets moody easily in face of difficulty.While on the contrary,like an adult,that child seemed to be quietly telling me that I should not worry and that I would be qualified for my job if I learned new knowledge little by little!” Thinking of this,Li Zhen rose and returned to the classroom.He started teaching the students again from every act,rhythm,and stage picture…

李桢给家长做工作，给他们分析未来的就业形势，给他们讲以往考上大学的聋哑学生毕业就业的事例，最终改变了他们的想法。“家长的每一个决定，都可能会影响孩子的一生，做家长的工作是特教学校老师的常态。”

震撼一幕让他留在聋校

李桢毕业于华中师范大学音乐学院舞蹈教育专业，扎根聋哑学校，是因为那个10年来一直印在脑海中的画面。

2010年5月，即将毕业的李桢受邀到二聋校帮忙排练舞蹈。一天，晚饭后他提前来到舞蹈教室，看到一群孩子围坐在响着巨大噪声的音箱旁边，一个个把耳朵贴在音箱上。……